• AQMD Chairman Burke Reappointed to Four-Year Term
• Board Approves Mobile Source Credit Generation Rule
• Air Quality Improvement Funds Approved
• RECLAIM Issues Discussed at Pre-Hearing
• Board Sets April Hearings for Power Plant, RECLAIM Rules

In Other Action

AQMD Governing Board Chairman William A. Burke, Ed.D. has been reappointed to a four-year term on the board starting Jan. 15, 2002 through Jan. 15, 2006.

Burke was reappointed by Speaker of the Assembly Robert M. Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys. One of AQMD's 12 Board members is appointed by the speaker of the state Assembly.

Burke has served as the speaker's representative on the AQMD Board since 1993. He was elected by the Board to serve as Vice Chairman in 1994 and as Chairman in 1997.

In April 2000, Governor Gray Davis appointed Burke to serve as a Board Member for the State of California Air Resources Board.

Burke is founder and President of the City of Los Angeles Marathon. He is married to Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke.

The Board approved a pilot program for generating nitrogen oxide emission reduction credits by voluntarily replacing certain kinds of diesel-fueled trucks and equipment. The credits can be used in RECLAIM, the region's emissions reduction and credit trading program for some 360 facilities.

The rule is one of several AQMD measures aimed at increasing the supply, reducing the demand and stabilizing the price of nitrogen oxide credits in the RECLAIM program.

Rule 1612.1 -- Mobile Source Credit Generation Pilot Program, will allow facilities to generate mobile source emission reduction credits by replacing heavy-duty diesel trucks, warehouse yard hostlers or refuse trucks exempt from AQMD's Rule 1193 -- Clean On-Road Residential and Commercial Refuse Collection Vehicles with clean-fueled, lower-emission models.

Replacing such equipment will reduce toxic diesel emissions in neighborhoods where they are used. The program also will help clean the air as 9% of the credits generated will be retired and thus will not be eligible for use in RECLAIM.

AQMD currently has several rules allowing generation of mobile source emission reduction credits, but none have been approved so far by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. AQMD has developed Rule 1612.1 in close collaboration with EPA and the California Air Resources Board to ensure that it meets state and federal requirements.

AQMD plans to propose four additional mobile source credit generation programs this spring for the use of fuel cells to power ships in port, electrification of truck and trailer refrigeration units and replacement of diesel-fueled agricultural pumps.

Applications to generate credits under Rule 1612.1 would have to be submitted by Jan. 1, 2004.

The Board approved the expenditure of $11 million from an air pollution violation settlement with AES Alamitos LLC, for the following projects:

• Pre-funding an Air Quality Investment Program for RECLAIM, $2 million;
• Enhanced education and outreach to African-American, Hispanic and Asian communities, $1.5 million;
• Funding for Adopt-A-School-Bus Foundation to buy clean-fuel school buses, $1 million;
• Funding for the Jurupa Unified School District to purchase compressed natural gas-powered school buses, $3 million;
• Cost-sharing a railroad overpass in Montclair to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution, $500,000;
• Clean air advertisement program with Palm Springs airport taxis, $250,000;
• Replace airport taxis with compressed natural gas-powered models, $250,000;
• Energy efficiency programs, $350,000;
• Assist in funding low-polluting microturbines in Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties to generate electricity, $1.8 million; and
• Demonstration of residential fuel cells, $350,000.

AES settled a RECLAIM violation in December 2000 for $17 million. Last month, the Board approved spending $6 million of the settlement on natural gas fueling stations.

The Board conducted a preliminary public hearing to take testimony on proposed changes to the RECLAIM program aimed at increasing the supply and stabilizing the prices of nitrogen oxide trading credits.

The Board is expected to conduct a final public hearing and consider adopting proposed changes to RECLAIM on May 11.

The proposal includes:

• Temporarily separating power plants from the RECLAIM market for the next several years and requiring them to install air pollution controls on an expedited schedule;
• Establishing a mitigation fee program, where power plants would pay to AQMD $7.50 per pound of nitrogen oxide emissions in excess of their RECLAIM credit holdings. AQMD would use the fees collected to seek emission reductions from mobile, area and stationary sources. Excess emissions would be deducted from the facility's future account holdings. Once emission reductions were generated from the mitigation fees, deductions would be credited back to the facility's account.
• Requiring other RECLAIM facilities that do not produce electricity but do emit more than 50 tons per year to submit compliance plans demonstrating how future RECLAIM allocations can be met; and
• Creating a short-term Air Quality Investment Program for new and some small RECLAIM facilities to offset nitrogen oxide emissions by paying a fee of $7.50 per pound. In a related action, the Board agreed to pre-fund this program with $2 million.

AQMD staff has developed these proposals with ongoing input from power producers, other industries, environmental groups and other air quality agencies during numerous RECLAM working group meetings over the last several months. AQMD will continue to refine proposed changes to RECLAIM during the next two months utilizing feedback from the Board and working group participants.

The Board set a public hearing for April 20 on a measure that would increase the supply of particulate emission offsets to new and expanding power plants for the next three years.

State and federal laws require that all emission increases from new and modified sources be offset. Large sources typically offset emissions by purchasing emission reduction credits on the open market, but power plants are currently having difficulty finding PM₁₀ credits available.

Proposed Amended Rule 1309.1 -- Priority Reserve would allow power plants to purchase PM₁₀ emission reduction credits from AQMD's Priority Reserve for $25,000 per pound per day through 2003.

AQMD's Priority Reserve is an account of emission reduction credits now available only to essential public service providers, such as publicly owned sewage treatment plants, as well as innovative technology and research projects.

The Board also set public hearings for April 20 to consider:

• Amending Rule 1303 -- New Source Review Requirements and Rule 2005, New Source Review for RECLAIM; and
• Amending Regulation IX -- Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources, and Regulation X -- National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants.

• Adopted Rule 1425 - Film Cleaning and Printing Operations, to reduce air toxic emissions from motion picture operations;
• Amended Rules 2011 and 2012 regarding monitoring, reporting and record keeping requirements for RECLAIM facilities;
• Amended Rules 3003 and 3005 regarding permit revisions and adopted Rule 3008 on potential to emit limitations;
• Approved the submitting of mobile source emission reduction projects funded by the AB2766 program to the California Air Resources Board for possible use in offsetting emissions from peaker power plants;
• Approved submittal of an application to receive funds from the California Air Resources Board for a Zero Emission Vehicle incentive program;
• Designated $2.5 million to fund a nine-month program to reduce the permit application backlog; and
• Adopted a Technology Advancement Plan for 2001 and approved the 2000 annual report for AQMD's Technology Advancement Office.

The Board approved all other items on the agenda except item 14, Report to the Legislature, which was rescheduled for the April Board meeting.

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This page updated: August 12, 2004
URL: http://www.aqmd.gov/news1/Governing_Board/Bs3_16_01.htm